Is Your Back Pain due to Spinal Stenosis Causing Memory Problems? The Brain-Spine Connection Explained

If chronic back pain or spinal stenosis is part of your everyday life, you understand the frustration—the aching, the limitations, the endless quest for something that actually works.. But here's something you might not have thought about: your back pain could be impacting more than just your physical comfort. It might actually be affecting your brain function.

That brain fog you experience during a bad back pain day? It's real, not just in your head. A new study examining older adults across the United States uncovered a striking link: people with spinal pain were significantly more likely to notice cognitive difficulties. (1) This is not just about being troubled by discomfort—there appears to be a genuine connection between spinal health and how well your brain functions.

Think about it: your spine isn't just a structural support system. It houses your central nervous system, the communication highway between your brain and body. When that system is impacted by conditions like spinal stenosis, the effects can reach farther than your spine.

Before you worry, here's some good news: research suggests relatively simple interventions that might help. Studies have shown that daily multivitamin supplementation can boost cognitive function in older adults. One study found that elderly women taking a combined multivitamin, mineral, and herbal supplement for just 16 weeks experienced measurable memory improvements. (2) Similar research in older men showed that comprehensive nutritional supplementation positively impacted both cognition and blood biomarkers. (3)

While these studies didn't focus exclusively on back pain sufferers, they suggest that assisting your body nutritionally could supply cognitive benefits—potentially counteracting some of the mental fog that comes with chronic pain.

Now, this is where your chiropractor's care can help. If your spine problems are affecting your thinking, fixing the spine issue should help your brain too, right? A documented case of an 80-year-old woman with chronic low back pain described significant improvement through specialized chiropractic techniques, specifically modified Cox® Technic flexion distraction decompression performed in a gentle, side-lying position. (4) By decreasing chronic spinal pain, chiropractic spinal manipulation may boost your entire system—including your brain.

If you're dealing with back pain and noticing that your memory or focus isn't what it used to be, you don't have to accept it as inevitable. Consider a two-pronged approach: start with a quality daily multivitamin to support your nutritional foundation, and talk with your your chiropractor at Old Mill Chiropractic about how spinal manipulation helps get at the root causes of your discomfort. Your back—and your brain—will thank you.

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr.  Cameron McConville  on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes relieving, gentle treatment of spinal stenosis with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.